Abraham Lincoln papers

From David Hunter to Edwin M. Stanton, February 1, 1862

Fort Leavenworth, Ks. Feby 1st 1862.

Sir: I deem it advisable to report for the information of the War Department that Senator J. H Lane has not accepted the position of Brigadier General to which he has been appointed by the President; but that, in the visit he paid to me on his arrival at Leavenworth City, he stated distinctly and in terms that he was “my visitor as a Senator of the and a member of the Senate Military Committee”.

It can hardly be necessary to call your attention to the anomalous and, to say the least, perplexing position thus occupied by Senator Lane; and I find myself compelled, in the interests of discipline and the public service, to request that some definitive character shall be given to Senator Lane with as little delay as possible.

Previous to his arrival here, the fact of his appointment and the belief that he had accepted it, were so widely current and credited, that many regard him as if in the service; and I am held responsible (in the belief that he has reported to me for duty and is under my control,) for much that I cannot endorse or approve in his line of conduct: — while the fact that he has not accepted, but is here as a Senator and member of the Military Committee places him beyond any supervision of mine, and his acts are independent of my judgment.

From a variety of incidents which have transpired since his arrival, and many applications bearing his endorsement and recommendation which have been transmitted to me, — I am satisfied that Senator Lane feels aggrieved and disappointed (or has resolved so to appear,) at the position to which his acceptance of his commission would assign him; and that his continued presence in this Department, in his present undefined position, can only be of detriment to the public service. The conviction is forced on me, that, dissatisfied himself, he is determined to create trouble; and my respect for the eminent and honorable body of which he is a member makes me earnestly wish to avoid that which Senator Lane would seem to be earnestly seeking.

I have therefore respectfully to request, in the interest of the public service, that Senator Lane may be called upon to accept his Commission as Brigadier General and to report for duty within a given and not remote period, — with the alternative that in case he does not accept within the time stated, 1 it shall be regarded as a refusal and his appointment thereupon be cancelled.

Abraham Lincoln papers http://www.loc.gov/resource/mal.1433100 1 For more on the conflict between Lane and Hunter, see William P. Dole to Lincoln, February 3, 1862; Hunter to Lincoln, February 4, 1862; Collected Works, V, 115-116; Lincoln to Hunter, February 10, 1862; Hunter to Lane, February 13, 1862; Lane to Hunter, February 13, 1862; and Hunter to Lincoln, February 14, 1862.

Begging your early attention to this matter,

I have the honor to be, Sir, very respectfully

Your mo obed. servt.

D. Hunter,

Major General

Com.

Abraham Lincoln papers http://www.loc.gov/resource/mal.1433100